U.S. Economy & Jobs

Congress narrowly averted a partial shutdown of the U.S. domestic security agency late on Friday night, but the forces behind the chaotic episode remain - fractious Republicans and House Speaker John Boehner's lack of control over them. That may portend more serious trouble ahead as Washington confronts fiscal challenges on a grander scale.

Jeb Bush will not sign any "no new taxes" pledges or any other pledges if he decides to seek the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, a spokeswoman said on Saturday. The statement from Bush spokeswoman Kristy Campbell was in response to an appeal from anti-tax champion Grover Norquist for Bush to sign his Taxpayers Protection Pledge, in which candidates agree to oppose tax increases.

Funding for the Department of Homeland Security is likely to lapse because of a failure of Congress to pass new funding for the agency by a looming deadline on Friday, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Monday. An expiration of funding "does seem to be where we're headed and that is disappointing," Earnest said at the daily briefing, adding that he held out hope that members of Congress might change course at the last minute. Funding for the agency is embroiled in a fight with the...

Turkish lira tumbles on worries over central-bank independence. NEW YORK-- The U.S. dollar index posted a monthly gain after spending much of February in consolidation mode as investors await further signals on the timing of the Federal Reserve's next interest-rate increase move. The ICE dollar index, which tracks the U.S. currency against a basket of six major rivals, traded at 95.256, up from a level of 95.150 in North American trade late Thursday and near a level last seen in 2003....

Wal-Mart Stores Inc.' s decision to raise its minimum wage for U.S. employees was promptly followed by T.J. Maxx parent TJX Cos., which said this week it too will pay workers at least $9 an hour. Who in the apparel sector will be next?

Feb 27 (Reuters) - Speculators further trimmed bets favoring the U.S. dollar, pushing net longs to their lowest in more than two months, according to data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission released on Friday. The value of the dollar's net long position fell to $40.81 billion in the week ended Feb. 24, from $42.04 billion the previous week. Net dollar longs declined for a third straight week. That said, this was still the ninth straight week that dollar longs have hit at least $40 billion. A round of mixed U.S. economic data has somewhat dimmed optimism on the U.S. dollar, with market participants further pushing out expectations for a Federal Reserve interest rate hike to later this year instead of mid-year. Net euro short contracts, meanwhile, continued to fall, notching 177,736 contracts in the latest week, from 185,582 previously. The Swiss franc net short position also contracted to 5,085 contracts, the smallest net short since mid-December. To be long a currency is to take a view it will rise, while being short is a bet its value will decline. The Reuters calculation for the aggregate U.S. dollar position is derived from net positions of International Monetary Market speculators in the yen, euro, sterling, Swiss franc, Canadian and Australian dollars. Japanese Yen (Contracts of 12,500,000 yen) 24Feb2015 week Prior week Long 31,611 31,269 Short 79,123 80,360 Net -47,512 -49,091 EURO (Contracts of 125,000 euros) 24Feb2015 week Prior week Long 45,511 47,175 Short 223,247 232,757 Net -177,736 -185,582 POUND STERLING (Contracts of 62,500 pounds sterling) 24Feb2015 week Prior week Long 46,741 42,999 Short 68,611 71,797 Net -21,870 -28,798 SWISS FRANC (Contracts of 125,000 Swiss francs) 24Feb2015 week Prior week Long 5,228 4,740 Short 10,313 10,784 Net -5,085 -6,044 CANADIAN DOLLAR (Contracts of 100,000 Canadian dollars) 24Feb2015 week Prior week Long 22,423 19,998 Short 58,668 52,840 Net -36,245 -32,842 AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR (Contracts of 100,000 Aussie dollars) 24Feb2015 week Prior week Long 15,597 17,230 Short 78,751 71,061 Net -63,154 -53,831 MEXICAN PESO (Contracts of 500,000 pesos) 24Feb2015 week Prior week Long 34,105 28,873 Short 82,449 74,318 Net -48,344 -45,445 NEW ZEALAND DOLLAR (Contracts of 100,000 New Zealand dollars) 24Feb2015 week Prior week Long 11,107 10,021 Short 15,437 15,774 Net -4,330 -5,753 (Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Editing by James Dalgleish)

Moves will depend on data, shocks. NEW YORK-- The era of the Federal Reserve giving forward guidance to financial markets about its next steps on monetary policy is coming to an end, a top U.S. central banker said Friday. Fed Vice Chair Stanley Fischer said the Fed would feel too constrained if it "pre-committed" to a steady path for interest rates and so the central bank would not "telegraph every action."

The U.S. Treasuries market was poised for its worst month in more than 1-1/2 years in February as investors scaled back their safe-haven bond holdings on improving U.S. economic data and bets the Federal Reserve may raise interest rates this year. U.S. government securities have posted a combined loss of 1.6 percent through Thursday.

Potential presidential candidate Rick Perry dismissed the significant jobs gains under President Obama, telling a conservative group on Friday: "The unemployment rate is a sham." The nation's unemployment rate has fallen to 5.7% in January, from 10% in October 2009, 10 months after Obama took office.

The Federal Reserve will not follow a monetary policy of steady rate hikes that take no account of economic conditions, said Stanley Fischer, the vice chairman of the U.S. central bank. "I know of no plans of following a deterministic path to raise rates, I don't believe it will happen," Fischer said at a conference sponsored by the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Instead, the Fed will take into account the behavior of the economy and "shocks we have to deal with."

The Federal Reserve will not follow a monetary policy of steady rate hikes that take no account of economic conditions, said Stanley Fischer, the vice chairman of the U.S. central bank. "I know of no plans of following a deterministic path to raise rates, I don't believe it will happen," Fischer said at a conference sponsored by the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Instead, the Fed will take into account the behavior of the economy and "shocks we have to deal with."

The Federal Reserve will not follow a monetary policy of steady rate hikes that take no account of economic conditions, said Stanley Fischer, the vice chairman of the U.S. central bank. "I know of no plans of following a deterministic path to raise rates, I don't believe it will happen," Fischer said at a conference sponsored by the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Instead, the Fed will take into account the behavior of the economy and "shocks we have to deal with."

Robert Benmosche, who ran insurer AIG in the wake of its federal bailout, has died after a long illness. Benmosche, 70, had undergone treatment for cancer since 2010, according to a statement from AIG.

The Federal Reserve's bond buying programs, although completed, are currently depressing 10- year Treasury yields by about 110 basis points, a top U.S. central banker said Friday. In a speech at a conference on monetary policy sponsored by the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, Fed Vice Chair Stanley Fischer said the estimate was based on a Fed staff study of the effect on the term premium on 10- year Treasury securities from the combination of all of the Fed's asset...

The Federal Reserve's bond buying programs, although completed, are currently depressing 10- year Treasury yields by about 110 basis points, a top U.S. central banker said Friday. In a speech at a conference on monetary policy sponsored by the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, Fed Vice Chair Stanley Fischer said the estimate was based on a Fed staff study of the effect on the term premium on 10- year Treasury securities from the combination of all of the Fed's asset...

Critical intelligence before the U.S. market opens. The Nasdaq is the place to be, index-wise, these days, and that's a good sign for those holding out hope this broader market has legs. By hopping aboard the tech-heavy group's climb toward new highs, traders are moving deeper into a risk- on mentality.

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